MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“UK in the South Atlantic for a long time”

“Recovering the Malvinas will take time; Great Britain is going to be around in the South Atlantic for some time to come”, forecasts Argentine ambassador Lucio Garcia del Solar an expert in Falklands/Malvinas affairs and an emblematic figure of Argentine diplomacy.

In a long interview with La Nacion, Mr. Garcia del Solar recalls how as a young diplomat in the early sixties by chance he first became involved in pursuing Argentina's claim over the Falklands and how the famous United Nations Resolution 2065 of 1965 calling on Britain and Argentina to resume talks on the Islands sovereignty was lobbied.

The 2065/65 then led to the 1971 Communications understanding, with UK blessings, which for almost a decade closely linked the Falklands to Argentina. Following the 1982 war, --which he describes as a "barbarous deed"--, Garcia del Solar was also instrumental in having Argentina's Falklands' sovereignty claim put back in the UN agenda, as well as in the secret talks which led to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two belligerents and the Madrid 1990 accord.

Following the downfall of elected president Arturo Frondizi in 1962, Mr. Garcia del Solar as a young diplomat was sent to the United Nations where the Argentine delegation was already planning how to exit from the impasse in the bilateral dialogue over the Falklands with the United Kingdom.

Mr. Garcia del Solar argues that Argentina has always claimed the Islands, "since they were usurped from us in the 1830s, but the British would always reply that HM government has no doubts about the Islands sovereignty rights". "We therefore decided to end the bilateral impasse ?between a big and a small country?and "multilateralize" the issue thus ensuring we wouldn't be on our own in the so far sterile defense of our rights".

Based on the UN mother resolution 1514 which led to the great decolonization of the nineteen sixties, recognizing self determination and independence but also in paragraph 6 the "territorial integrity of countries", Argentina helped by a Uruguayan ambassador expert in the matter, begun drafting resolution 2065.

Actually Uruguayan ambassador Jose Maria Velazquez presided over a decolonization committee for small territories "and led us all the way: strategy, tactics, he knew his ground and together we worked at a beef restaurant close to the US building which brought him memories of Montevideo", confesses Garcia del Solar.

"We couldn't claim sovereignty before the UN because it's not an international tribunal but we could achieve what until that moment seemed impossible: make the British sit round a table to discuss a bilateral solution to the Islands sovereignty, which for us meant the recovery of the Islands", reveals the Argentine diplomat.

"The resolution was drafted and we began talking of the Islanders "interests" as opposed to the concept of self determination, which has become Argentine doctrine on the matter. Argentina was stripped of a territory administered by a governor and a small population which were then expulsed and replaced by the occupying power, and with paragraph 6 referring to territorial integrity, we had our case".

The UN 2065/1965 resolution was finally approved by 94 votes and 14 abstentions with zero votes against, "even the British abstained".

Ambassador Garcia del Solar revealed that the Chileans weren't convinced because at the time there had been a serious border conflict with Argentina and the Brazilians were reticent but "given the overwhelming support from Latinamerica including Cuba with which we had no relations, it was a win/win situation. Even US ambassador in the UN Adlai Stevenson was helping us".

Why did the British abstain?

"There was nothing uncomfortable in our relation with Britain. The sovereignty issue was completely in the margins of the very excellent relations we've always had with the British. Besides the resolution didn't condemn, it only asked for discussions?, that's why the (1982) war was such a barbarous deed"

At the time, in the sixties, the anti colonialism wave was extremely strong in the world and even the British knew there was not much to be done.

However when the resolution was voted the "British delegate congratulated me and anticipated that the invitation to hold bilateral talks would be addressed by the Foreign Office and very soon you will have news". But the British delegate immediately added, "try and convince the Islanders because it's going to demand a lot of effort".

UN resolution 2065 opened the way for the Communications and contacts understanding of 1971, "when we built the first airport in the Islands, we sent teachers; we bankrolled young Islanders in the best English schools in Argentina?"

However this was not the last UN battle on Malvinas/Falklands.

Following the 1982 war the issue was again in the UN General Assembly agenda given Garcia del Solar, --then ambassador in Washington?exceptional contacts in the US.

As to the current situation Ambassador Garcia del Solar describes it as "completely different from that before the South Atlantic conflict".

"Argentina and UK were meeting regularly to discuss the issue, under UN mandate; with the sponsoring of Britain between 1971 and 1982 and directly from the Islands we collaborated and worked hard to find an intelligent solution for both sides that would be consented by the Islanders, whose interests Argentina had promised to respect", underlined Garcia del Solar.

"The violation of the Argentine commitment to peacefully solving the dispute has delayed for an undetermined period the solution. The UK acts as if as consequence of a provoked war, according to them by us, in fact it annuls the UN mandate and refuses to resume negotiations".

And what are the chances of a change in the British position and the acceptance of some sovereignty formula?

Mr. Garcia del Solar recalls that during the Madrid talks of 1990 Argentina proposed a return to the 1971 communications and contacts agreement between the Falklands and the continent, however "the British delegate pointed out that the Islanders had been so traumatized by the Argentine military occupation that it would take two generations to overcome it and for the moment they didn't even want to hear about us. Twenty years have elapsed from that extreme position so we should speculate with certain realism".

But Ambassador Garcia del Solar is optimistic about the future since Argentina and UK have dominant presences in the South Atlantic and as the 1976 Shackleton report on the Falklands indicates, "cooperation and even participation of Argentina in the development of the area and its abundant offshore resources, if possible, must be obtained".

The dispute someday will be solved but "Malvinas will take time and Great Britain is going to be around in the South Atlantic for some time to come", and to discuss sovereignty with a realistic criterion, "great joint undertakings in the area must be promoted".

Both countries have always nurtured friendship and trade together with the dispute, without letting it affect bilateral relations, "that is how countries with vast diplomatic experience perform".

And if as consequence of this approach Argentina recovers the predicament it had over the United Kingdom before World War II, "its chances in the long term to reach the satisfaction it cherishes will considerably increase".